Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Throwing Hearts

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER: Blue Heart Press

LENGTH: 213 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2020

BLURB:

Leo Secombe loves his life, and he’s convinced himself he’s happy to be single. In his spare time, he keeps himself busy at a local LGBTQ centre that pairs a younger person with a community elder to help them feel included in today’s rainbow family. Leo and Clyde have been buddies for a few years now, and signing up for a pottery class seems like fun.

Merrick Bowman has been so focused on getting his pottery business up and running that he’s forgotten how to date. How to live, even. But when a young, bubbly Leo and an older, grumpy Clyde walk through his door, Merrick has no idea how much Leo is about to centre his world.

Throwing clay has been Merrick’s entire life, but Leo’s about to change all that. Maybe Merrick’s ready to throw caution to the wind. And maybe he’s ready to finally throw his heart on the line.

REVIEW:

What a lovely gift N.R. Walker has bestowed upon us with this gorgeous falling-in-love-forever story. I adore Throwing Hearts and Walker herself, who is such a versatile writer. Over the course of more than three dozen books, she has written such diverse MM works including contemporary, paranormal, BDSM, historical, murder mystery and sci-fi romances.

Now she brings us this treasure about two ordinary men who fall in love over lumps of clay. This utterly adorable novel is light and fluffy in the best of ways, making you feel warm and happy and content like snuggling a lovable, fluffy kitten. There’s plenty of substance in the form of crazy chemistry, mouthwatering sexual tension, hot sex, and romance and cuteness aplenty.

The plot setup begins with the Bridge-the-Gap program at the local LGBT center, which strives to match young people with older members to help alleviate the seniors’ loneliness and isolation through time spent together socializing. Leo Secombe is matched with the hilarious, curmudgeonly Clyde who is secretly in possession of a big heart. With a group of other pairs, Leo and Clyde attend a series of pottery classes at Merrick Bowman’s pottery studio. (Yes, there is a Ghost moment.) It’s immediate attraction for both men, of the sweet, flirty variety. 

Walker walks us through every step of Leo and Merrick’s burgeoning romance, from their first meeting to their first date, and every touch, kiss, and subsequent date until Leo finally gets his “really good dicking” and beyond. The narration is an alternating first person point of view which serves to immerse us in the story even more. I felt like I was on their first date with them: the tummy butterflies, the giddiness, and the deep pleasure of getting to know someone when it feels like you might just be looking at your future. And what an absolutely perfect first date it is. 

Many of us in marriages or other long-term committed relationships won’t have that first-time experience of “smitten at first sight” again. Our stomachs won’t flip-flop, our hearts won’t skip a beat, we won’t feel the anticipation of that first kiss, and we won’t feel shy and nervous around this beautiful new person in our lives. Walker gives us the opportunity to do so vicariously through Leo and Merrick and it’s lovely.  

Leo Secombe was bringing me undone. What was it about him that put me so off-balance? He was gorgeous, funny and quick-witted, smart and kind, and when I was with him, I was unguarded but completely comfortable. And to be frighteningly honest, I was dizzy with the oomph of it. It was like some magical force, the thrill of new romance. And the possibility of where it might lead knocked me off my feet.

Throwing Hearts has an outstanding supporting cast including the oft–grumpy Clyde, his nemesis and queen of snappy comebacks Shirley, his new love, Merrick’s Uncle Donny, and Leo’s best friend Kell. There’s no angst here, no conflict either, although something happens with Uncle Donny near the end of the book that brought tears to my eyes. It’s just a gentle – and sexy – (and fluffy) love story. There is the best of happy endings, two years out; I appreciate epilogues with long-term looks into the future. They more realistically shift the ending from happy for now to happy forever.  

So what do you think – a recommended read? You betcha! This enchanting tale will delight you.  

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon